72 Styrian men and 3 Styrian women are very good.
The fact that our popular and well-known seed oil is not only healthy, but apparently also makes you fast, is probably one of the many reasons why 75 starters from Styria – the green heart of Austria – are competing in the time hunt on the Rechberg.
Sigrid Ferstl (#17), Kerstin Taus (#40) and Birgit Huber-Gschanes (#207) are the Styrian racing amazons and compete with 72 seasoned Styrian boys for the internal title of “Fastest Styrian participant“.
“According to unconfirmed rumors, the famous Stoanis are even planning to change the name of their hit song “Steirermen san very good” for our racing ladies,” says Peter Eibisberger with a mischievous smile on his lips. But he immediately waves it off and adds: “We are mighty proud of our Styrian power, which we find in the entry list – no matter who is behind the wheel!”.
Across all classes, our Styrians are divided and will thus almost continuously provide for cheers – especially for the Styrian fans.
All of them have resolved to really step on the gas on “their home mountain” in order to keep the Styrian flags flying high.
“We definitely have some contenders for victory in individual classes and with Kerstin Taus and Sigrid Ferstl probably also the fastest ladies on the Rechberg,” says Mario Klammer.
And the ladies in question laughingly say: “Of course we want to shine with good times at our appearance, but it’s always something special to start at our home race. That’s why: let’s have a look – then we’ll see!”
The starting numbers and classes of our Styrian mountain glowers:
Historic:
- Class A1: #276-Jürgen Pachteu, #274-Christian Holzer,
- Class A6: #267-Hans Jud,
- Class B3: #260-Erwin Mandl, #258-Dominik Neumann,
- Class B5: #254-Andreas Schögler, #252-Patrick Knoll,
- Class C2: #247-Thomas Tkaletz,
- Class C3: #238-Reinhold Prantl,
- Class D3: #231-Harald Neuherz,
- Class D5: #229-Johann Krammer,
- Class D6: #227-Gernot Bittner,
- Class E5: #209-Bernhard Pongratz
Modern, Category 1:
PF 6: #207-Birgit Huber-Gschanes, #200-Stefan Mehlmaier, #198-Josef Schögler, #197-Ronald Reiss, #194-Philipp Wilfling, #193-Gabriel Posch, #192 Johannes Payer, #191-Markus Gruber, #190-Stefan Franischen, #187-Rene Auner
PF 5: #186-Angelo Griesser, #185-Florian Neuherz, #184-Erich Rossegger, #182-Kilian Mandl, #181-Manfred Knaus, #179-Mario Eisner, #178 Wolfgang Schutting, #173-Domink Rabl, #172-Manfred Suppan, #171-Martin Schaflechner, #169-Patrick Flechl, #153-Chris-Andre Mayer
PF 4: #151-Sebastian Huber, #150-Karl Heinz Schauperl, #149-Gregor Hutter, #146-Georg Stix, #142-Tobias Weberhofer, #141-Werner Jud, #140-Daniel Sailer, #135-Markus Gruber, #132-Gerhard Landl, #131-Thomas Pabst, #130-Nino Schanes, #129-David Zottler, #128-Karl Strobl, #126-Dieter Holzer, #124-Mario Hohenwarter, #120-Hans-Jürgen Januschkowetz, #118-Andreas Mussbacher, #114-Michael Tautscher, #113-Bernd Mayer
PF 3: #107-Stefan Karl, #103-Heiko Fiausch, #102-Manfred Fuchs, #101-Patrick Trammer, #-Michael Auer, #94-Andreas Höfler, #91-Thomas Weberhofer, #83-Christian Schweiger, #82-Diethard Sternad
PF 2: #71-Christopf Lieb, #65-Felix Pailer, #59-Kevin Raith, #52-Peter Probhardt
PF 1: #Karl Heinz Binder, #46-Ewald Scherr, #45-Rupert Schwaiger, #43-Franz Kogler, #40-Kerstin Taus
Modern, Category 2
PF 3: #19-Christian Ferstl, #17-Sigrid Ferstl
Voices of some of our Styrian participants:
Kerstin Taus: “I’ve had the title of “Fastest lady on the Rechberg” since last year and I’m really looking forward to my home race again. I have to give it my all just because of the fans. I definitely want to put on a great show…and if the times are right too, then I’ll be a very happy Kerstin!”
Sigrid Ferstl: “This is the third time I’ve competed on the Rechberg. Although I’ve been active since 2016, it didn’t fit until 2023. But I’m not going to put any pressure on myself, instead I’m going to use Saturday for good training runs to get the feel for the Rechberg again. And on Sunday, I’ll try to really step on the gas. The title of ‘fastest woman on the Rechberg’ sounds tempting.”
Felix Pailer: “I’m really impressed that so many Styrians are stepping on the gas here. But on the other hand, it’s not surprising either. The Rechberg is something very special on the racing calendar – and obviously everyone wants to be there.”
Rupert Schwaiger: “Very cool! I’m happy about every starter from Styria, even if that means I have to work even harder. But I’m happy to do that, because I want to prove that even the “old guys” can still give it a good go.”
Kevin Raith: “That’s exactly what so many great people have been working so hard for here for weeks. So that our compatriots can take home an unforgettable experience from the Rechberg. My goal is to achieve a good position in my class. It would be really cool to be in the top 5. It won’t be easy, but with the help of the fans I’ll give it my all!”
Chris-Andre Mayer: “As one of the local heroes, I really want to show what I can do here at my home race! I love the Rechberg and feel right at home when I’m at the start. Together with my brother Bernd, we will fly the Styrian and especially the Tulwitz flag high and give it our all! For the fans, for the family, for the friends and for the organizer there is only one motto for us: Max-Attack!!!”
The ultimate hill climb on the Rechberg starts on April 25th with the administrative and technical scrutineering of all participants around the community and fire station in Tulwitz from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm.
Saturday, April 26, will be dominated by the two training runs, with the first run starting at 09:00.
Two races are scheduled for Sunday, April 27. First start at 09.00, second start at 14.00.
The official opening ceremony starts at 08:30 with Governor Mario Kunasek, the President of the AMF Prof. Dr. Harald Hertz, the mayors Peter Raith (Fladnitz an der Teichalm) and Gottfried Rieger (Semriach), as well as the head of the organization team.
The ceremony is accompanied by the Fladnitz/Teichalm music band and children from the Fladnitz/Teichalm elementary school as cheerful flag bearers.
Information for fans – constantly updated, of course – is available on the homepage www.rechbergrennen.co.at, as well as on the social media channels of Facebook and Instagram under #rechbergrennen.
